Marinating poultry, such as chicken or turkey, is a good way to improve its flavor and tenderness, plus it will help it last longer before cooking. Marinating poultry is easy and foolproof if you follow a few basic guidelines.
Instructions
1. Before you marinate the poultry, trim it so that it's ready to be cooked.
2. Remove the skin now if you don't intend to eat it. Although leaving the skin on will protect the meat during cooking, it also will prevent the marinade from reaching the meat.
3. Prepare your marinade according to its recipe. While you do so, check whether the recipe contains acid (such as lemon juice, wine or vinegar), salt or alcohol. All these ingredients will shorten the time food will marinate.
4. Use smaller pieces of meat if the marinade contains any of these. For example, pound chicken breasts flat before marinating. Smaller pieces allow more marinade to soak in in a shorter amount of time.
5. Place poultry and marinade in a nonreactive container; cover. Never use aluminum or cast iron to marinate in. Glass or ceramic works well, but the best container is a sealable plastic bag. These can be turned to allow the marinate to cover all surfaces and can be discarded after use.
6. Place the container in the refrigerator, on the bottom so that any drips don't contaminate other foods. Never marinate poultry unrefrigerated.
7. Discard the marinade when ready to cook. Never, under any circumstances, should you reuse a poultry marinade.
Tags: marinate poultry, Marinating poultry, poultry marinade
